Category Archives: Features

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Today’s feature is our sorority sister Tiffany. Her beautiful hair is almost waist length. As hard as it is to believe her inner beauty actually outshines the outward! Catch up with the gorgeous Tiffany below:

When did you decide to go natural and why?

I went natural in 2004. Initially it was because I was a college student and didn’t have time or money to get relaxers. I had about 2 inches of new growth and didn’t have any issues straightening it. This was a little before the days of it being an “I am woman, hear me roar” movement to go natural. I just wanted the most minimal approach to doing my hair. I thought to myself, “why get them if I don’t need them?” That was the end of that!

Today’s feature is the award winning celebrity hairstylist Adrin ‘Seven’ Washington. His salon located inside of LUX Studios in Bethesda, Maryland specializes in educating clients about healthy and luxurious hair. We got the chance to chat with him below! Check out his advice on maintaining fabulous hair:

Can you give us some general tips on how to maintain healthy hair?

The best way to maintain healthy hair is to deep condition your hair once every four shampoos; eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water; exercise regularly; protect your hair while resting; refrain from excessive heat when styling your hair; get a haircut regularly to maintain shape and promote growth; and visit Seven and Company often!

Hair & Make Up – Adrin Seven WashingtonModels – from left to right – Tanya Zalecki & LaWanda Amaker Photographer – Long Nguyen

Many curly girls are worried about losing their curl patterns when they straighten their hair. What is the healthiest/safest way to ‘straighten’ natural hair?

We’re always inspired by young entrepreneurs. Our fellow Aggie Andre and his fraternity brother Gerald started a Greek Paraphernalia line with impressive quality products called Gold Torch Apparel. Being that we are lovely ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha ourselves, they were kind enough to share their vision with us below:

Speaking On Their Vision:

When we realized a large majority of the ‘nalia on the market either lacks quality, taste, is overpriced or a combination of all of the above, we birthed the vision of Gold Torch Apparel. With this line we wanted to go back to the roots. If you look back at the paraphernalia worn in the 70s and 80s, it was tasteful. We wanted to make something that could be worn casually without the “billboard effect” that typically comes with wearing paraphernalia.

Today’s feature is our very close friend Krystal. She’s always rocking her hair in different ways and since we love her style so much we asked her to share her hair story with us. Meet Krystal:

When did you decide to go natural and why?

I decided to go natural in the winter of 2008. I had been in Milwaukee, WI working on a Co-Op for six months and it was a great period of growth and enlightening for me, however it was not so beneficial for my hair. Through terrible stylists, the harsh climate, and general mistreatment, my hair had broken off like it never had before. It was thin and brittle. I decide it was time to make a change.

Today we will be featuring one lovely lady who possesses beauty on both the inside and out. She is one of the most kindhearted people you will ever encounter and she always has your back;) We are glad to be able to call her our sister and very grateful that she decided to share her hair story with us. Meet Ms. Kimberly Brown…

When did you decide to go natural and why?

I decided to go natural around April 2010. One of my linesisters, Kara, was natural and convinced me that I didn’t need a relaxer. I was hesitant, because relaxers made it easier to for me to do my hair, but at that time, I had not had a relaxer since around September 2009, as I only got them 2-3 times a year, so I went for it — and haven’t looked back! 🙂

Today’s features are the lovely ladies of the Trials n Tresses blog. We had the opportunity to sit and chat with Melissa & Shakira about their fierce tresses! Catch their stories below:

(Melissa Pictured Above)

When did you decide to go natural and why?

Melissa: My last relaxer was March 10, 2012 but I didn’t fully decide to make a full commitment to being natural until July 2012. I wish I had a really great life altering story to explain why I decided to go natural but the truth of the matter is my hair was so unhealthy and beyond repair that if I had put one more chemical into it I probably would have lost all of my hair. I wasn’t taking care of my hair the way I should have and after taking out a weave in July I decided that I would stop putting in relaxers indefinitely, grow out the color I had in my hair and dive fully into taking care of my hair in its natural state to ensure I had healthy hair.

(Shakira Pictured Above)

Shakira: I decided to go natural in March of 2012. I was searching for a hairstylist after getting a horrible color job. So I had been doing my own hair at that point, pretty much washing and straightening. So I decided at that point I would be a straight natural and stop relaxing all together. I was really excited thinking this is great I can color my hair now wear it curly or straight this will be amazing. So this led me to research being natural and transitioning. Through doing my research I stumbled across a site, which said that if u want to see your true curl pattern you can’t use too much heat because it will damage it. So since reading that I haven’t used the flat iron again.

We’re back with another Sibling Spotlight feature, the bond shared between siblings is of the utmost importance to us. We absolutely adore this connection! We highlight the importance of establishing a healthy relationship with your sibling through featuring siblings that have great relationships.

Next up meet the Thompson’s:

Emani & Kiare!!

Introduce yourselves (Tell us a little bit about yourselves):

KIARE: What up!? Describe myself? Uh I’ll try… I’m Kiare Thompson a 24 year- old educated black male. Born and raised South Sacramento, California. A dapper individual with a passion for enjoying every single day God blesses me with on this beautiful earth. I love my family. Alpha Phi Alpha is what I rep, hella athletic, hip-hop head, R&B enthusiast, all around music connoseiur. I love tacos and elegant intellectual women who can engage in stimulating conversation over a light glass of cognac. (Henny preferably but I might pull out the D’usse for the fancy ones). Hahaaa.

EMANI: Hello, I’m Emani Thompson. I’m 27, from Sacramento, California. To describe myself I’ll say I’m a delicate, free-spirited, easy- going lady with a small side of sass who’s crazy.sexy.cool. I have the honor of being the Mommy to an amazing, God-given little lady, Miss Jourdyn. I’m a dreamer backed by faith and believe in everyone unapologetically owning their greatness, especially our African-American babies. I have a passion for involvement in inner- city neighborhoods with the children that are often an afterthought. They inspire me to exude excellence and to bring something back to the table for them. Dare I say, I hope to show them the world one day?! (I do plan on it.)

Today’s feature is a fellow Aggie! She was Vee’s roomie in college and one of the very first natural girls that we encountered. We simply adore her beautiful hair! Meet Shanay:

When did you decide to go natural and why?

I got my first perm around my sophomore year of high school. I have a tight natural curl and was frustrated that I could never wear my hair down without worrying about it immediately curling up, so I started getting relaxers about every 4 months just to tame the tightness of my curl. While in college I tried the natural route- I made it almost 2 years without chemicals but I eventually ran out of patience and defaulted back to a relaxer. I’ve always been one to experiment with my hair and try new cuts and styles so when I graduated I cut my hair into a short style. At that time, and for about 6 months after, I was still getting perms. I didn’t have plans on going natural while letting my hair grow back, but it happened (lol). As my hair grew out it was actually easier to style my hair in it’s natural state, my hair was very healthy and growing back FAST so at that point I made a conscious decision to leave chemicals alone and just let my hair be. But…. the longer my hair got the harder it was for me to find different styles to wear my hair, and my hair began breaking off because I was using too much heat to control my curls…so again, I defaulted to a relaxer. I was pretty disappointed in myself for taking the easy way out by getting a relaxer so I promised myself that would be the last relaxer I’d receive and that was November 2011 so I’m a little over 1.5 years in now. I love my hair in it’s natural state and with the help of YouTube and friends I think I’ll be more successful in finding ways to wear my hair while in the transition phase, which will help keep my mind off constantly straightening it and keep it healthy. My hair has always been fairly healthy, so my reason for going the natural route is because I don’t need a perm to be able to style my hair any more.

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About US … GreeneVDC

What is ‘vademecum’?
A unique Latin phrase that means a handbook or guide

What is the Greene Vademecum?
The Greene Sisters! There’s Charla the creative spunky one and there’s VeCoya the ambitious sassy one. Sisters with the same values but different viewpoints. We talk about healthy relationships, fab hair & our own unique experiences. GreeneVDC is just SISTERLY LOVE!

Hi! I am Cait- Mother of 2 girls with a 7 year age gap! I love beauty (especially natural/organic) and fashion. I'm a Maltese dog lover, fitness enthusiast, pop culture buff, lover of all things that make life beautiful! I am a serious shoe, purse, and skinny jeans addict. I am so happy you found my blog- where I share my 'adventures' in reviewing sub boxes, Influenster VoxBoxes, and collaborations/reviews/giveaway with companies that have products I think you'll love. I also share super good deals that you don't want to miss!